Ask the Doctor – The Weston A. Price Foundationhttp://www.westonaprice.org
Thu, 22 Feb 2018 00:31:44 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.4http://www.westonaprice.org/wp-content/uploads/cropped-favicon-150x150.pngAsk the Doctor – The Weston A. Price Foundationhttp://www.westonaprice.org
3232Preventing and Treating the Fluhttp://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/preventing-and-treating-the-flu/
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/preventing-and-treating-the-flu/#commentsTue, 23 Apr 2013 19:16:13 +0000http://www.westonaprice.org/?p=261Question: There is so much pressure on us to get a flu vaccination. Is this wise, or are there better ways of preventing and treating the flu? Answer: […]

]]>Question: There is so much pressure on us to get a flu vaccination. Is this wise, or are there better ways of preventing and treating the flu?

Answer: True influenza is an infectious disease, transmitted through the air in infected secretions (i.e., mucus), caused by an RNA virus in the Orthomyxovirus class of viruses. There are three subtypes of viruses in this class, called A, B and C with the subtype A associated with the most severe symptoms in humans. The global influenza pandemic of 1918, which killed millions of people all over the world, but especially in Europe, was supposedly a type A influenza virus. There have been lesser outbreaks of other type A viruses occurring from time to time since then.

It is important to note that not all cases of sickness in the winter are the “flu” type, and it is virtually impossible for a doctor to tell an individual patient whether he is suffering from illness caused by the true influenza virus or some other variation of the common cold. Typically the distinguishing features of true influenza versus the usual cold are higher fever, body aches, sore throat and the tendency to get pneumonia. While these may occur in the common cold they are more severe in classic influenza.

It is important in understanding influenza to go over some basic principles of infectious disease and how our immune system functions. We have two immune systems, the cell-mediated or Th1 (thymus derived) immune system is responsible for eliminating intracellular (meaning inside the cell) organisms. It primarily works through the production of white blood cells that essentially digest and then excrete cells (for example, in our throat or bronchial tubes) that have been infected with a virus or bacteria. The consequences of a cell mediated response, that is, the digestion and excretion of dead and infected cells, are what we call sickness. In other words, fever, rash, cough, mucus and so forth are not caused by the virus but by the body’s response to the virus.

In contrast, the humoral or Th2 immune system targets extracellular (i.e., outside the cell) infecting agents (such as worms) or foreign proteins and produces antibodies that call for a killing response before the offending agent gets into our cells and makes us sick.

There are several important points to note here. First, with every naturally occurring infection both immune systems respond, first the cellmediated to clear the virus, then the antibody or humoral system to make antibodies to remember what happened so our cells don’t get infected with the same pathogen more than once. Second, the severity of any particular illness is a function of how many cells are infected and the strength of our cell-mediated response. Finally, whether we get repeated sickness is related to whether we can make an effective antibody response.

The influenza virus, being an RNA virus, can only replicate inside other mammalian cells; this is why it causes illness. If we haven’t encountered a particular strain before it gets into our cells and replicates, the cell-mediated response comes into play and leads to sickness.

The cell-mediated response usually lasts a week to ten days; then the virus is cleared, we make antibodies and are immune for life. This is what happens in the vast majority of cases. In the process of the cell-mediated response, a kind of cellular house-cleaning takes place, in which a lot of weakened and otherwise diseased cells are cleared from our tissue. This is why we say after the flu that “we are better.” In fact, the cell-mediated exercise is largely responsible for immunity to cancer, auto-immune disease and other chronic conditions. In other words, the dictum “give me a fever [that is, the cell-mediated response] and I can cure any disease” speaks to the power and efficacy of the cell-mediated immune system.

In contrast, when we give a vaccine, any vaccine, we are deliberately trying to bypass the cell-mediated immune system and only provoke a humoral response. (If a vaccine provoked the cell-mediated immune system, it would just make us sick and no one would agree to them.) Although in theory this process might work, the problem is that this shifts the vaccine recipient into what is called a Th2 dominant mode, an imbalance in which the humoral immune system is too strong and the cell-mediated immunity is suppressed.

This leaves us with no avenue to clear the poisons that we have just been injected with from our tissues; it leaves us with chronic inflammation as our bodies struggle to clear these inflammatory toxins, such as mercury, formaldehyde, and dead viruses, and an increased susceptibility to chronic disease. An overactive humoral immune system often leads to auto-immune disease, where the humoral immune system attacks our own tissues.

In all, flu vaccines have too many problems to recommend them against an illness that should be fairly straightforward to overcome.

As far as flu prevention, the best approach is, of course, a nourishing traditional diet with an emphasis on good fats, lacto-fermented foods and gelatin-rich bone broth. Sugar and refined carbohydrates both blunt the immune response and should be avoided as much as possible. High vitamin cod liver oil, rich in fat-soluble vitamins, helps the immune response, the dose is one-half to one teaspoon per day. The other proven preventative is some elderberry extract, my favorite being elderberry/thyme syrup from True Botanica, one teaspoon twice per day.

If you should get the flu, increase the cod liver oil to one teaspoon three times per day while you are sick, and give the elderberry extract one tablespoon four times per day until better.

I recommend two homeopathic remedies for the first three days or as long as you have a fever. The first is Oscillococcinum from Boiron, given one tube of little pills twice per day; the second is meteoric iron/prunus from Uriel pharmacy, five pills four times per day. The meteoric iron should be continued at this dose until all symptoms are gone. Of course, you should take plenty of bone broths and nourishing soups as appetite permits.

The important point to remember about the flu is that this is a annoying but self-limiting disease which, through its activation of our cellmediated immune system, strengthens us and prevents us from going down the road of chronic disease. Vaccines do just the opposite and should be avoided. When it comes to the flu, we need to keep our eyes on the big picture and the true road to good health.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Spring 2013.

]]>http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/preventing-and-treating-the-flu/feed/13Protection from Radiation Sicknesshttp://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/protection-from-radiation-sickness/
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/protection-from-radiation-sickness/#commentsWed, 06 Jul 2011 19:20:09 +0000http://www.westonaprice.org/?p=1856Question: With clouds of radiation drifting eastward from the nuclear disaster in Japan, how can we protect ourselves holistically from radiation sickness? Answer: Many people have asked me […]

]]>Question: With clouds of radiation drifting eastward from the nuclear disaster in Japan, how can we protect ourselves holistically from radiation sickness?

Answer: Many people have asked me what, if anything, they should do to prepare for the possibility of increased radiation exposure. Here are my suggestions, based on my understanding of the research on preventing and treating radiation sickness. For this article, I want to thank the many people who have written to me to help me sort out the voluminous research on this subject.

First, because there is no clear evidence of current danger that I know of, we should do now only what is safe, inexpensive and otherwise healthy. This includes our nourishing traditional or GAPS diet, with liberal amounts of good fats, broth, lacto-fermented vegetables and greens. Special foods that have been shown to counteract radiation sickness include naturally fermented miso, beets, kombucha and sea vegetables, such as kombu.

Fermented cod liver oil at a minimum dose of 1/2 teaspoon or 2 capsules is important. Next, detoxifying baths with a cup of Epsom salts every couple of days is an inexpensive aid to boosting magnesium levels, relaxing muscles, and aiding the elimination channels.

As for medicines, at this point I recommend the safest and most proven aids in radiation exposure, which are vitamin C in the form of the highly absorbable liposomal C; the herb eleutherococcus, otherwise known as Siberian ginseng; and a seaweed called modifilan, a brown seaweed that is rich in a chemical called fucoidan, which studies have shown has great promise in combating radiation exposure. This seaweed contains liberal amounts of iodine, so the more toxic potassium iodide need not be taken at this point.

The doses of these medicines are as follows:

Liposomal C: one teaspoon a day in any liquid, half that dose for children younger than five.

Eleutherococcus from Mediherb, Pure, Herb Pharm or other vendors: one tablet twice a day for adults, half that dose for children younger than five. For children unable to swallow pills, the tablets can be dissolved in hot water and mixed with any liquid. For tinctures, use as directed on labels and half dose for children.

Modifilan: three capsules twice a day for adults, one capsule twice a day for children younger than five. It can be mixed with any soft food, like applesauce.

All these medicines can be obtained online or you can call our office (415-334-1010), and we will send them out.

As for potassium iodide, this is a much more aggressive measure, and many people will have some trouble with the high doses that are suggested. But, if public health authorities say it’s time, then it should be used—but only then, in my opinion. In that case, the dose is 130 mg of KI for adults and women who are breastfeeding; 65 mg for young people ages three though eighteen; children who are adult size should take the adult dose, and infants and children between one month and two years should take 32 mg; newborns to infants one month old should take 16 mg. The best source is either from your local pharmacy or by ordering Iodoral online.

Hopefully, this tragedy will be resolved soon. In the meantime, our hearts go out to the workers risking their health and lives to contain the damage, and to the people of Japan, who have endured so much. It is my hope that this event will lead to a needed change of awareness in our culture.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Summer 2011.

]]>http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/protection-from-radiation-sickness/feed/1Support for the Liverhttp://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/support-for-the-liver/
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/support-for-the-liver/#commentsSat, 02 Apr 2011 20:25:33 +0000http://www.westonaprice.org/?p=2023The liver is a multi-faceted organ with many diverse functions. It sits in the right upper quadrant of our abdomem and acts as our internal chemist. Our liver […]

]]>The liver is a multi-faceted organ with many diverse functions. It sits in the right upper quadrant of our abdomem and acts as our internal chemist. Our liver is responsible for detoxification, control of the blood sugar, synthesis of blood clotting factors, osmotic balance in our tissues and many other vital functions.

Rudolf Steiner, founder of Anthroposophical medicine, theorized that the liver is the controlling organ of our fluid or life body and in fact in many languages the name for the liver is the same as the word life—I like to call it the “lifer”— for without a healthy functioning liver, life is simply not possible. The fluid body, or in Anthroposophical terms—the etheric body, is like the plant inside of us. (According to Anthroposophical thought the plant body consist of a mineral body taken up into the living sphere, in other words a plant is a living mineral.)

THE INNER PLANT

This inner plant controls how the fluids circulate in the body, preventing fluid congestions, swelling or dryness. This role is evident in cases of severe pathology of the liver, such as liver cancer or cirrhosis, in which one common sign is edema, especially in the legs, or acites which is fluid collection in the abdomen. This happens because the liver is not able to maintain a healthy fluid organism, hence stagnant fluid begins to collect, showing up as edema.

In fact, the unhealthy stagnation of fluid anywhere in the body points to a weakness in the liver. Hay fever or otitis media (middle ear infections) are two examples of disordered fluid organisms which are improved with proper care of the liver.

Another connection of the liver to the plant world can metaphorically be experienced by observing a patient with acute viral hepatitis (inflammation of the liver). In such cases the patient experiences profound fatigue as the “life” forces of the patient are drained. Like a poorly nourished plant with leaves that start to yellow, in the patient with hepatitis, the liver pathology is heralded by the onset of jaundice (yellowing) which is especially noted in the whites of our eyes. In fact, in many traditional medical schemes it is often said that the condition of the liver can be best seen outwardly in the clarity and overall health of the eyes.

Doctors usually get involved with treating the liver when the patient has difficulty with detoxification. This can often be seen by the fatigue of the patient, by the inability to tolerate foods or smells or even the simplest chemical exposures, or sometimes by poor elimination function in the bowels. Chalky white stools are a classic symptom of poor liver function because bile turns the stool brown and bile is the main detoxification “product” of the liver.

TAKING OUT THE GARBAGE

Think of the liver this way: the liver bags the garbage and the bile takes it out to the curb. The garbage is either metabolic waste products that we ourselves produce, or exogenously derived poisons from the outside. Bagging the garbage means that when the liver is exposed to any toxin, its job is to conjugate, or chemically manipulate, the toxin to make it soluble so it can be dissolved in the bile it produces and then flushed out of the body through the bile ducts into the small intestine and then out with the stool. The first phase is called conjugation (bagging up the garbage), the second phase is the elimination phase (taking the garbage out to the curb). With poor liver function, either the garbage doesn’t get bagged properly and unprocessed poisons end up in the circulation, or it doesn’t get taken out and therefore accumulates in the tissues. There are certain tests available that can tell you the intergrity and the integration of how these systems are functioning but in practice they almost always co-exist so it is the best course of action is to treat them both.

There are many factors that will weaken your liver over time. Excessive exposure to environmental toxins is certainly one prominent factor, often in the form of pharmaceutical medicines, many of which need to be cleared, thereby taxing the bagging function of the liver. Statin drugs and Tylenol are two prominent and frequently used drugs that are directly toxic to the liver enzymes responsible for detoxification. Also, poor bowel function and leaky gut syndrome put extra strain on the liver as the contents of the bowel go directly up to the liver to be processed. If the bowel is leaking, the liver is more burdened. In fact, in most diseases care of the detoxification function of the liver is a sound therapeutic move.

TREATMENT

The treatment of the liver always starts with the diet. As well as doing the obvious things like removing as much toxicity as possible by eating only organic or biodynamic foods, the emphasis in the diet should be on greens, the bitter and sour tastes, and the healthy consumption of saturated fats. Protein intake should be low to moderate but healthy raised animal fats should be consumed as tolerated. I tell patients to start every morning with a glass of water with a half of lemon squeezed into the water and then eat some animal fat (especially grass-fed butter or ghee) and greens (such as dandelion greens or the more bitter greens) at every meal. The green color is the most pure reflection of plant life and this stimulates the detoxification processes in the liver. The fats are used by the liver to help make the enzymes that do this detoxification work. The mixture of cod liver oil and butter oil helps to make sure a supply of healthy fats and fatsoluble vitamins is available to nourish your liver.

For medicines, the liver is nourished mostly by plants with a bitter taste, and by therapeutic oils. The best studied plants for liver nourishment include milk thistle and schisandra. These two herbs come together in the Mediherb product called Livco, which has been shown to promote healthy liver function. In fact, milk thistle extract (called silymarin) is used as an intravenous medicine in European hospitals to treat acute poisonings, as with Tylenol overdose. The dose of Livco is one tablet three times per day.

The therapeutic oil to use is the castor oil packs described by Edgar Cayce in many of his readings. Given under a heating pad applied to the liver for two hours, from one to seven times per week, the castor oil stimulates both phases of liver detoxification and is a tried and true medicine for helping all parts of liver function.

There are many other medicines, and bitters and other products that help liver and bile function properly, including coffee enemas which are a proven medicine used by cancer patients all over the world for stimulating liver detoxification.

These suggestions will point you to the way to regain a healthy liver and the vitality that this confers.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Spring 2011.

]]>http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/support-for-the-liver/feed/1Treating Eczemahttp://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/treating-eczema/
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/treating-eczema/#commentsFri, 24 Sep 2010 13:59:50 +0000http://www.westonaprice.org/?p=2472Question:I have had eczema off and on for many years, causing me considerable discomfort, even pain. Conventional doctors seem to have nothing to offer me except steroid creams. […]

]]>Question:I have had eczema off and on for many years, causing me considerable discomfort, even pain. Conventional doctors seem to have nothing to offer me except steroid creams. Is there a natural solution to eczema?

Answer: Eczema, Latin for skin rash, is a common and vexing skin disorder that severely disrupts the lives of many people of all ages. The incidence of eczema has been increasing over the past forty years; in fact, it is now considered the most common chronic disease in the pediatric population in the western world. According to western medicine, the pathophysiology—that is, the cause—of eczema is unknown, although the current theories put eczema in the category of auto-immune diseases in this case an auto-immune disease of the skin. (For reference other auto-immune diseases include Hashimoto’s which is an auto-immune disorder of the thyroid gland, and rheumatoid arthritis, which is an auto-immune disease of the joints.)

Food allergies have long been suspected to play a role in eczema, although studies of the role of food allergies have shown conflicting results over the years. There is also the question of whether all eczema or skin rashes have the same cause, in that sometimes the skin will be wet and weeping, whereas in other cases the skin is overly dry and cracked. It is unclear whether these are actually the same disease or whether they should be thought of and treated as entirely different illnesses. There is also the question of whether the location of the skin disorder relates to the origin of the illness. Children typically have eczema in the crooks of their elbows, and behind their knees and ears, whereas in the teen years and twenties the eruptions are frequently on the hands and feet, and in older age the eruptions often occur on the legs and arms. All these things are unexplained in conventional medicine and in fact complicate this very difficult situation.

In trying to understand eczema on a deeper level, the first issue to address, as with all allergic and auto-immune diseases, is the fact that the antibodies that cause auto-immune reactions are made against foreign proteins that have found their way into the bloodstream. Whether we are talking about foreign food antigens (food allergies), or auto-immune reactions, the issue is not so much stopping the toxic skin reaction that results in the eczema, but rather sealing and healing the gut in order to stop the leakage of foreign proteins into the blood stream, either from food or other sources. Healing the micro-flora of the gut, healing the micro-villi of the gut, and stopping the absorption of antigenic proteins is the key to stopping the vicious cycle that results in chronic eczema. All of this points to the GAPS diet (Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet), the modified traditional diet, to start healing the gut and restoring the micro-ecology in our GI tract. From a epidemiological perspective, when we moved away from our traditional diet, with its emphasis on lacto-fermented foods, good fats, bone broths and properly prepared grains, we created the situation that has allowed chronic illnesses like eczema to flourish.

In addition to the GAPS diet as the basis of the eczema treatment, there are some natural medicines that can go a long way to relieve the suffering that often accompanies this disorder. Evening primrose oil has been shown to lower inflammation and often help with skin healing. For small children the EPO can even be rubbed into the skin. The dose of EPO should be 4000 mg per day for 6 weeks, then 2000 mg per day thereafter. The Chinese herbal medicine sophora is an anti-allergy herb that is widely used both orally and as a skin ointment with much success. Allergy Research sells a product called Dermaweed, which contains sophora, and is often very successful in helping to heal eczema. The dose is about three capsules, three times per day for about eight weeks. Fermented cod liver oil, about 1 teaspoon per day should be given to supplement vitamin A, which has been shown to heal the GI mucosa and is valuable in the treatment of a variety of skin conditions. Some people see partial success with the cod liver oil, and complete success in healing eczema when the high-vitamin butter oil is added.

Probitoics and probiotic food should be given, including a daily dose of sauerkraut, and a probiotic such as Biokult, building up slowly to a dose of 1-4 capsules twice per day. Finally the skin protomorphogen from Standard Process, called dermatrophin, which blocks the antibodies that eventually cause skin inflammation should be given at a dose of 1-2 tablets three times per day between meals.

Finally, for topical treatment, I cannot say enough about a Chinese herbal formula containing sophora—I have seen bad cases of eczema clear up in just a few days with this product. A member of the pea family, sophora contains a biopolymer called arabinogalactan consisting of two simple sugars, arabinose and galactose. Arabinogalactan functions as a signalling molecule between cells, as well as glue to seal wounds, and may also interact with the immune system in a positive way.

The sophora topical treatment is available from drkangformulas.com. The product is number 49 on the website. The preparation is quite expensive—ten dollars for a small packet—but many find that it is more than worth it in the almost instant relief from itching that it gives.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Fall 2010.

]]>http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/treating-eczema/feed/33What to do About Tetanushttp://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/what-to-do-about-tetanus/
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/what-to-do-about-tetanus/#commentsFri, 30 Oct 2009 17:03:50 +0000http://www.westonaprice.org/?p=3125Question: What are your thoughts on getting the tetanus vaccine? Are there any natural ways of treating tetanus? Answer: This is a question that has come up many […]

]]>Question: What are your thoughts on getting the tetanus vaccine? Are there any natural ways of treating tetanus?

Answer: This is a question that has come up many times over my years of medical practice. Parents have often asked my advice about tetanus prophylaxis for their children. As with other areas of medicine, I can lay out the issues, but it is difficult for me to say that there is only one way to handle this question.

First, the basic facts. Tetanus is the name we give to the illness that is caused by the toxin secreted by the bacteria Clostridium tetanii. This bacterium is an obligate anaerobe which means it can only live in the absence of oxygen. It is ubiquitous in the soil, and is widely distributed all over the world. When the bacteria enters the human body in a wound, and if the wound is devoid of oxygen (such as a puncture wound from a nail) then the bacteria can flourish inside the wound. If the wound is exposed to oxygen, which is what happens with common lacerations, then the tetanii bacteria will be unable to grow. If they grow, they eventually will produce a tetanus toxin (a poison) that selectively puts the skeletal muscles of humans into a tight spasm. The skeletal muscles include the major muscles of movement. The smooth muscle, such as the viscera (intestines) or the specialized muscle of the heart are unaffected by the tetanus toxin. As more and more of the toxin is produced, the affected person will eventually go into full body spasms and then develop “lockjaw” which is the dreaded outcome of a tetanus exposure as the jaws remain tightly clenched.

The mortality rate for an episode of full blown tetanus is high and in some studies upwards of 50 percent of the patients who contract tetanus will not survive. If one does survive, the tetanus toxin is eventually cleared from the body and no residual repercussions remain. The key point in this is that even though the tetanus toxin is made by a bacterium there usually is no significant infection at the site of the wound. In some cases, the doctors have actually been unable to locate any overt signs of infection at all, but somehow the bacteria had grown in the body and had made their toxin. Also, the symptoms of tetanus usually start about one week after exposure to the bacteria (from the wound) but can occur up to months following the incident. This makes it even more difficult to track down the infection or to be confident that any particular incident no longer presents a danger.

In the U.S., there are about fifty cases of tetanus per year; it is a much bigger problem in third world countries, especially among infants who can contract tetanus from the cutting of the umbilical cord with an unsterile instrument.

Conventional medicine offers two ways to deal with tetanus. The first and most common is to give people, usually children, a series of tetanus shots or vaccines. The vaccine contains a very small dose of the tetanus toxin and the theory is that the vaccine recipient will make antibodies that can neutralize the toxin if it should every occur as a result of infection. Usually an initial series of three shots is given at two, four and six months and then “boosters” at varying intervals thereafter.

The second method of dealing with tetanus is to wait until an exposure has occurred, or at least a likely exposure and then give what is called hypertet, which is serum containing the neutralizing antibodies. In this case, the recipient is not making antibodies himself; he is given them to neutralize the toxins that are already in his system.

Back when I was first practicing, hypertet (tetanus immune globulin) was made from collecting the serum of horses that were “hyperimmunized” with tetanus. The rate of severe anaphylactic reaction to this medicine was about 20 percent, with most of these reacting patients dying from the medicine. Luckily, I have never been in a situation that required me to give anyone this treatment and for that I have always been grateful.

Today, the hypertet is made from recombinant DNA, maybe not the greatest thing in the world, but it is nowhere near as lethal. Still, there have been numerous episodes of hypertet contaminated with various viruses so this preparation is also to be avoided if at all possible.

This then brings us to the bottom line: since we all want to avoid taking the hypertet, the real choice is whether to use the vaccine preventatively or do nothing except practice good wound care.

Regarding the vaccine, it is important to note that tetanus vaccinations are different from all the other vaccines. First, tetanus is unlike the other illnesses for which children are given vaccines. It is not a childhood illness, like pertussis or measles. It really isn’t even an infection, its more of poisoning, from poison made by bacteria. This means there is nothing good about getting tetanus, unlike the immune enhancement that comes about through the usual childhood illnesses.

Second, unlike the other vaccines, there is no cell-mediated immunity—white blood cells clearing the virus—with tetanus, because it is a poisoning, not an infection.

The bottom line here is that unlike all the other childhood illnesses, there is nothing good about having gone through tetanus or contracting tetanus; it is a fairly deadly poisoning which is best handled only by prevention. Thus, for a number of years, tetanus was the only vaccine I ever gave the children in my practice. I gave three shots, usually starting at about two years old and I never gave boosters. This was because of National Institutes of Health research, which claims that no one who has received all three shots for tetanus has contracting clinical tetanus. By the way, the vaccine does not contain thimerosol; however, there is no telling whether it contains other questionable ingredients.

During the last decade, however, there have been some counter arguments that have stayed my hand with regard to giving the tetanus vaccine and made the whole situation unsettled. First, it has become clear that the incidence of clinical tetanus dropped to a very low level even before routine vaccination was practiced in this country. Why this is no one knows, but it mirrors the pattern seen in the rest of the childhood illnesses. Second, there have been some published studies showing that having tetanus antibodies facilitates the penetration of unrelated viruses into the cells. One of the viruses mentioned was HIV, another was hepatitis C. The implication is that somehow having tetanus antibodies from the tetanus vaccine makes one susceptible to seemingly unrelated viral infections. The mechanism of this is obscure and as far as I know there has been no follow-up. I can’t find this original reference, but I distinctly remember a patient showing me the research in the early 1990s. This, plus the worry about the chemicals used to preserve the vaccine, make this a more difficult choice than it was in the early days.

A few other points are worth mentioning. One is that a number of patients over the years have told me they wanted to have only the tetanus vaccination but were told by their pediatrician that it was unavailable as a single vaccine. This is not true: any doctor can purchase plain tetanus toxoid from any of the major vaccine manufacturers. Second, there is no reason to get a booster tetanus shot after a wound if you have already been vaccinated. As I said, you are protected if you have had three vaccines at any time in your life, even fifty years ago. There is also no reason to give hypertet to anyone who has done the original series of three shots. And finally, even though there are worries about the vaccines, it is something that, given at the right time—certainly not at two months—in an otherwise healthy child is a fairly reasonable prevention strategy.

What if you get a puncture wound from a nail or a staple, have not had the vaccinations, and do not want to take the hypertet? Obviously scrupulous wound care is the first priority. In addition, it makes sense that super nutrition could help your body deal with the toxin should it take hold. That means extra cod liver oil, natural vitamin C, lacto-fermented foods and plenty of bone broths. Avoid stresses after the injury and get plenty of bed rest so your body can devote itself to dealing with the challenge.

TETANUS FOLLOWUP

I was excited to see an article by Dr. Thomas Cowan on tetanus (Fall, 2009). As a family doctor in New Zealand I have to work hard to get balanced information so that my patients can make informed decisions about vaccination.I found the article very good but with one concern.

Dr. Cowan states, “As I said, you are protected if you have had three vaccines at any time in your life, even fifty years ago.” He was referring to an earlier statement about National Institutes of Health research claiming no one who has received all three shots for tetanus has contracted clinical tetanus.

Reading the epidemiological study (www.medscape.com/medline/abstract/9665156), the findings actually indicate that 13 percent of cases of tetanus between 1995-1997 had reported that they had received the full primary series of tetanus vaccinations. Admittedly we are talking very small numbers here (roughly a one-in-fifty-million chance per year) and as a result, Dr. Cowan’s statements remain in essence true, especially as 9 percent of those 13 percent had had four or more vaccinations for tetanus—it seems as though those people were probably going to get tetanus no matter how much they were vaccinated. It might seem nit-picky but I believe that integrity and transparency are vital if we are to rise above the rhetoric and propaganda.

I have to mention that I greatly respect Dr. Cowan’s stand for health and get a great deal of value out of Wise Traditions. I am a staunch advocate of the WAPF philosophy and continue to try and influence my practice with its truisms. Many thanks indeed.

Dr. Mark Edmond, MB ChB
Christchurch, New Zealand

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Fall 2009.

]]>http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/what-to-do-about-tetanus/feed/14Herpeshttp://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/herpes/
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/herpes/#commentsWed, 24 Jun 2009 19:12:37 +0000http://www.westonaprice.org/?p=3276Question: What advice can you give me about herpes infection? According to conventional websites, “there is no treatment that can cure herpes, but antiviral medications can shorten and […]

]]>Question: What advice can you give me about herpes infection? According to conventional websites, “there is no treatment that can cure herpes, but antiviral medications can shorten and prevent outbreaks during the period of time the person takes the medication.” Since it can be sexually transmitted, abstinence or “safe sex” practices are recommended. I don’t like the idea of taking antiviral medications on a permanent basis and the abstinence part doesn’t appeal to me either. Is there a natural therapy that can get rid of herpes for good?

Answer: “Herpes” is among the ten medical conditions most frequently searched for on the Internet. You would think that with so much interest in the condition, the medical “experts” would have more to offer than antiviral medications with their side effects of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, dizziness, rash and decreased kidney function.

The virus herpes simplex that is so common today manifests in two forms, herpes simplex type 1, which is associated with mouth sores, and herpes simplex type 2, which is associated with sores or lesions in the genital area. This distinction is not absolute as it seems that in some cases herpes simplex type 1 can also be associated with sores in the genital area. There are many other types of herpes viruses that cause disease in humans, including the variety that causes chicken pox and its associated condition shingles.

Herpes viruses tend to be contagious, especially the varieties that cause chicken pox and genital lesions. They are encapsulated viruses, meaning they have a lipid or fatty capsule around their DNA, and they tend to have a chronic form that affects the nervous system. In chicken pox, this means that after the original illness of chicken pox is resolved, the herpes virus is still present and dormant in the nerve roots. At some point, possibly due to stress or other factors, the virus becomes active and “erupts” as the painful lesions of shingles in the distribution of the affected nerve. Similarly with genital or oral herpes, after the initial, painful infection has cleared, the virus remains in the roots of the nerves to erupt again on the skin under certain conditions.

The symptoms of genital herpes are painful sores in the genital region, which at times can become crusty and infected. Some people experience only one episode; in others episodes manifest several times over a lifespan; some, however, experience painful eruptions every few weeks. It is for these people that this article is mainly directed, those for whom long-term use of conventional anti-viral treatments can result in very unpleasant side effects.

The only other point I would like to mention before discussing some possible treatments is the fact that genital and oral herpes are both transmissible illnesses. In fact, they both can be transferred even if the virus is completely dormant in the person carrying the virus. This is truly an inconvenient truth, in that it means that sexual contact can pass the virus on even if the infected partner has no outward signs of illness. Transmission is less common when the condition is dormant than if there are clear sores present, but we have well documented cases showing that it can occur. This is why herpes can be so troubling for people, as it has a disruptive effect on their sexuality, even in the absence of outward illness.

Regarding the natural treatment of herpes infection, we can take advantage of the characteristics of the virus to impact its tendency to erupt. Since the virus is essentially a piece of DNA surrounded by a fatty layer, if we target this aspect we can largely “disable” the virus. Luckily, we have two substances which are known to target this tendency of the virus.

First, the herb Hypericum perforatum, commonly known as St. John’s wort, contains a chemical called hypericin. It is hypericin that gives the red color to the oil glands in the leaves, and it is hypericin that selectively targets the lipid capsule of viruses.

For centuries, physicians have valued St. John’s wort as a nervine, meaning a medicine that targets the nervous system. Thus practitioners have traditionally used St. John’s wort to treat depression and tooth ache. Remember that the nervous system consists largely of cells with fatty coatings, similar to the encapsulated viruses. The plant in its wisdom contains the active chemical hypericin in an oily base, and because oil only dissolves in oil, it penetrates the oily tissues of the body, that is, the nerve cells, where hypericin then dissolves the lipid coating of the virus. I generally prefer Mediherb herbal products because of their potency. The dose is two tablets twice per day, even for the very long term.

The second characteristic takes advantage of the virus-disabling effect of lauric acid, the 12-carbon fatty acid found in breast milk fat and in coconut oil. Thanks to the work of Mary Enig, readers of this journal are familiar with the anti-microbial benefits of lauric acid and other short- and medium-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil. During digestion, the body breaks triglycerides (three fatty acids joined to a glycerol molecule) into di-glycerides (two fatty acids joined to a glycerol molecule), monoglycerides (one fatty acid joined to a glycerol molecule) and free fatty acids. It is the monoglycerol of lauric acid, called monolaurin, that has the strongest anti-microbial effects.

For years, I counseled my herpes patients to eat as much coconut oil, as they could stomach. However, in the past year, I discovered a product called Lauricidin, which is a concentrate or pure form of monolaurin. One dose of Lauricidin is the equivalent of taking many tablespoons of coconut oil per day, a practice most people find intolerable. I have been consistently impressed with the ability of Lauricidin to suppress herpes outbreaks, not to mention yeast problems like candida (monolaurin is also a potent anti-fungal agent), and allow people to get off their antiviral drugs. It is a safe extract, which can be taken long term. The usual dose to suppress the herpes is about 1/2 to 1 scoop, one to three times per day. It should be swallowed, not chewed, and always taken with some food. The dose should be increased slowly as tolerated and as gauged by its effectiveness.

In addition, we must pay attention to the overall microbial content of our bodies, as we know that good bacteria actually synthesize antiviral substances. For most, this will mean following a nourishing traditional diet containing a variety of lacto-fermented foods; for others a temporary GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) diet may be needed. The fermented cod liver oil is important at the dose of at least one-half teaspoon per day.

With this regimen most of my patients have been able to avoid both the conventional antiviral drugs and the painful symptoms of genital herpes.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Summer 2009.

]]>http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/herpes/feed/25Low Blood Pressurehttp://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/low-blood-pressure/
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/low-blood-pressure/#commentsFri, 03 Apr 2009 15:09:41 +0000http://www.westonaprice.org/?p=3600Question: We always hear about the dangers of high blood pressure but my problem is low blood pressure, which makes me dizzy and tired. Is there anything that […]

]]>Question: We always hear about the dangers of high blood pressure but my problem is low blood pressure, which makes me dizzy and tired. Is there anything that can be done for low blood pressure?

Answer: Over the years many of my patients have asked me about the significance of low blood pressure. This is a very interesting and surprisingly complex question, which merits some background information.

The official definition of normal blood pressure is around 120/80. Yet years ago, when I was in medical school, we were taught that the norm was dependent on one’s age, so that the systolic (top number) was normal if it was 100 plus the patient’s age over 90 or below. In fact, even though this way of looking at blood pressure is no longer considered valid, there has been no major study that I know of that shows a better prognosis in any measurement when the blood pressure is lowered with drugs to the level of 120/80 in elderly people.

Low blood pressure, on the other hand, has never been defined or been associated with an increase in any disease category. In fact, doctors today suggest that the lower one’s blood pressure the longer the life span and that those whose blood pressure doesn’t increase with age have some of the lowest overall all-cause mortality rates.

However, over the years I have had many patients who present with a picture of weakness that more times than not includes a significantly low blood pressure. By low blood pressure, I mean people whose blood pressure is less than 90/60. The typical person with blood pressure this low also complains of overall lowered vitality, sometimes allergies, almost always cold hands and feet and usually lowered libido. In serious cases low blood pressure can cause light-headedness, dizziness, weakness and fainting. All of these symptoms suggest a general overall lowering of one’s vitality. The low blood pressure is not the cause of this syndrome, nor is it by itself a sign of poor health, but in conjunction with these other symptoms suggests a state of low vitality.

So the question is what do we mean by low vitality and how does this correlate with these symptoms?

The regulation of blood pressure is a mysterious process which involves at least three mechanisms working in complex relation to each other.

Receptors—called baroreceptors—which reside in various organs and detect changes in arterial pressure. These receptors adjust the pressure by altering the force and speed of the heart’s contractions, as well as the resistance in the arteries.

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS), involves hormones secreted by the kidneys. When blood pressure drops, the kidneys compensate by activating a vasoconstrictor called angiotensin II. When the kidneys do not produce enough of this hormone, blood pressure will also be low.

Aldosterone is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex, which stimulates sodium retention and potassium excretion by the kidneys. When aldosterone is increased, the body retains fluid retention and blood pressure is raised. Alternately, low aldosterone production will result in low blood pressure.

As I have discussed in many other articles the adrenal hormonal output is directly involved in many symptoms of low blood pressure, not only is low aldosterone production associated with low blood pressure, but low cortisol (an adrenal hormone) is connected with allergies and fatigue; low sex hormone production (produced in part by the adrenal glands) is also related to adrenal hormone output and low libido. In other words, the lowered vitality that one often sees related to low pressure is a direct symptom of low adrenal and kidney hormone production. This is the issue that needs to be addressed, not specifi- cally a strategy to raise the blood pressure.

The way I address this specific variation on low adrenal function is to suggest a nourishing traditional diet along with adaptogenic herbs and supplements. The diet should contain an abundance of healthy fats, organ meats, raw animal foods and lacto-fermented foods. These provide the vitamins, minerals and enzymes, that is the raw materials, that the body can use for hormone production. Specifically, the adrenal gland uses good fats including cholesterol to produce hormones. Vitamins A, B6 and C are cofactors in the production of these hormones and are abundant in the nourishing traditional diet. Vitamin A is available from cod liver oil; vitamin B6 from raw animal foods; and vitamin C is plentiful in lacto-fermented foods such as sauerkraut.

These patients also need to have a high mineral diet, especially in the form of daily soup broth and liberal amounts of Celtic or Himalayan salt. Sometimes if warmth is the main issue, extra fats and oils are needed, in particular one teaspoon of high-vitamin butter oil in addition to one teaspoon of cod liver oil.

It is imperative that the patient completely remove all trans fats from the diet. These interfere with adrenal hormone production and may also inhibit the function of the baroreceptors.

The adaptogenic herb I have found most useful in this situation is one of the forms of ginseng, such as Eleutherococcus or Korean ginseng. I like to use the high potency forms from Mediherb like eletherococcus tablets at a dose of one tablet, 2-4 times per day, or Rhodiola/ginseng (Rhodiola is another strong adaptogenic herb) at the same dose. I also add the standard process protomorphogen of the adrenal gland called Drenatrophin at a dose of one tablet, three times per day. With these simple interventions these symptoms can be lessened, the blood pressure raised to normal and the patients often feel much better.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Summer 2008.

]]>http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/low-blood-pressure/feed/5Low-Dose Naltrexone (LDN) Therapy for Leukemiahttp://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/low-dose-naltrexone-ldn-therapy-for-leukemia/
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/low-dose-naltrexone-ldn-therapy-for-leukemia/#commentsFri, 15 Feb 2008 16:46:37 +0000http://www.westonaprice.org/?p=4673Question: I have just been diagnosed with pre-leukemia, bordering on full-blown leukemia. Can you point me to any alternative therapy? Answer: Leukemia is, generally speaking, an illness of […]

]]>Question: I have just been diagnosed with pre-leukemia, bordering on full-blown leukemia. Can you point me to any alternative therapy?

Answer: Leukemia is, generally speaking, an illness of the immune system, or perhaps more accurately said, a cancer of the immune system, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to introduce a therapy that I have recently become interested in. The therapy is called low-dose naltrexone (LDN), and more information, including copies of published studies, articles, interviews and even audio tapes of lectures by doctors who have used the therapy, can be found at the website www.lowdosenaltrexone.org.

LDN therapy is not only a promising therapy for many debilitating illnesses, including leukemia, but it offers insight into how our immune systems function.

Naltrexone was originally developed and introduced in the late 60s or early 70s. It is a drug that was created as an opiate receptor antagonist, meaning the drug blocks the opiate receptors in our bodies. A related drug, naloxone, was used as a very effective antidote for acute heroin or morphine overdose, often reversing the symptoms of overdose with these drugs in literally minutes. I can remember many times in my days of working in the emergency room that a patient with opiate toxicity was given naloxone and revived within minutes. Naltrexone, however, persists in the body for a longer period of time than does naloxone, and it was tried in patients for long-term use as a detox protocol for heroin addiction in the days before methadone. However, used in a once-per-day dose of 50 mg, it was unsuccessful in the treatment of heroin addiction. It was so effective in blocking the opiate receptors—which are the same as our endogenous endorphin receptors—that the patients felt chronically miserable and refused to take the drug. This outcome led to the discovery and elucidation of the role of endorphins in animal physiology. Endorphins are chemicals made in our bodies (in our adrenal and pituitary glands) which specifically make us feel good. They are exact copies of the exogenous (from the outside) opiates such as codeine, morphine, Vicodin, heroin, etc.

A neurologist in New York City, Dr. Bernard Bihari, who at the time was treating heroin addicts with naltrexone, began to notice that many of these addicts who also had AIDS had very low levels of endogenous endorphins. He reasoned that perhaps this was what led them to use opiates in the first place. It was then discovered through literally hundreds of research papers that these opiate receptors are found all over the body, in particular on the cells produced by our immune system.

Cells such as lymphocytes, natural killer cells, and so on, are full of endorphin receptors, and in fact seem to be controlled by these same endorphins. It seemed reasonable to conclude that the immune dysfunction that is characteristic of such illnesses as AIDS, cancer, auto-immune diseases (lupus, MS, Crohn’s disease, etc.), chronic fatigue syndrome and possibly many other immunologically-mediated diseases shared low levels of endorphins as a unifying theme behind their immune dysfunction. In fact, one can see the body’s wisdom in connecting the chemicals which produce feelings of well-being to the core functioning of our immune system regulation. Feeling low and out of sorts, then, is not merely a psychological problem, but raises alarms as to your overall health. Something needs to change, so that you can feel better.

Through much experimentation, Dr. Bihari was able to show that the same naltrexone that blocks the endorphin receptors at a high dose at a much lower dose given at night blocks the receptors for only an hour or so. The body responds to this temporary block by dramatically increasing its synthesis of endorphins so the end result is often endorphin levels increased by four or five times, a restoration of immune function, and in many cases the remission of the underlying illness of the patient. Dr. Bihari was able to show this in numerous cases over many years, but it wasn’t until this year that this effect could be said to be proven.

In January, 2007 a study was published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology showing that over 67 percent of patients with Crohn’s disease had a full remission from no other therapy than LDN. Similarly, a case study was recently published of a patient with pancreatic cancer which had metastasized to his liver, who was alive and well over four years later with no tumors detectable by X-ray. The only therapies used in his case were LDN and supplementation with alpha lipoic acid. On the LDN website you will find numerous cases of cancer patients, patients with auto-immune diseases, etc., who have had similar positive results from LDN. It is worth noting that in over 20 years of use, this medicine has shown no toxicity and no side effects except mild insomnia in the first week or so of use. It is cheap, easy to procure, and indeed its only trouble seems to be that it is non-patentable, which means there is very little money to be made from its sale.

I became interested in the LDN story for several reasons. The first was a patient of mine with a prostate cancer recurrence who has had wonderful success using LDN as his main therapy. Next was this study just referred to, which was published by the most prestigious gastroenterology journal in the English-speaking world. And finally, I have been encouraged by research pointing to other modalities that have been shown to increase endogenous endorphin levels. The first of these is exercise, the second is acupuncture (which is probably why acupuncture often makes people feel good), the third is chocolate (whose high levels of phenylalanine prevent the degradation of the endorphins), and the last is Iscador, a medicine I have long used with success in my cancer patients. I can practically guarantee that good fats would be added to this list if anyone took the trouble to do the study. I say this because nothing makes people feel as good as a nutritious meal including the adequate provision of healthy fats. My guess is regular sexual activity could also be added to this list of endorphin-increasing “agents.” LDN, however, clearly is the most potent endorphin stimulant that we know of, and used in conjunction with the other endorphin-friendly interventions holds much promise for those suffering from the often devastating effects of immune dysfunction.

Naltrexone is a prescription medication licensed for use in 50 mg capsules for the short-term treatment of opiate overdose. There are a variety of compounding pharmacies that are currently making it available in 4.5 mg doses, which is the dose Dr. Bihari has found most effective for raising endorphin levels. The usual dose is 4.5 mg right before bed. I would be happy to discuss with any interested readers whether LDN would be right for them and, if so, to provide them with the required prescription. For those interested in more information on how to start LDN, please call my office at 415-334-1010 and schedule an appointment.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Summer 2007.

]]>http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/low-dose-naltrexone-ldn-therapy-for-leukemia/feed/4Adjusting To Traditional Foodshttp://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/adjusting-to-traditional-foods/
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/adjusting-to-traditional-foods/#commentsThu, 14 Feb 2008 16:59:49 +0000http://www.westonaprice.org/?p=4707Question: For a few years now I have been trying to transition to a more traditional diet based on the Weston Price principles, but I keep backing off […]

]]>Question: For a few years now I have been trying to transition to a more traditional diet based on the Weston Price principles, but I keep backing off because of two reasons: Foods such as raw milk, butter and grass-fed beef all tend to produce a lot of mucus; and eating this way often makes me feel heavy with sluggish digestion. This occurs even with modest serving sizes. Although I went through a vegan/vegetarian phase a decade ago, I can’t believe my body has “forgotten” how to handle more traditional foods. I’m 36, 165 pounds and an athlete with no significant health issues—but I do get tired of spitting up clots of mucus after consuming milk, beef and other animal foods, despite the fact I’m eating the best quality available. Any suggestions?

Answer: Your problem with digestion and toleration of reintroduced traditional foods is one that comes up frequently. Milk, even though it is raw, often causes problems as does meat, especially beef, and often also grains. What I would like to do is to provide some ways of thinking about diet that may help you make food choices that work for you.

When I teach people about diet I explain that my approach is to think about three food groups. All the foods in each group are essentially interchangeable.

The first group is animal foods. This includes all the dairy products, eggs, beef, poultry, pork, fish, organ meats, etc. In all of the groups, it is important that you choose the best quality foods, but especially in the animal groups. Thus, milk should be raw whole milk from grass-fed cows, meats and eggs should come from pastured animals, and the fish should be wild.

The Weston A. Price diet puts a lot of emphasis on the fat-soluble vitamins A and D, and the minerals calcium and phosphorus. Raw milk from pasture-fed cows is an excellent source of all of these; hence our suggestion to include raw dairy products if you can. If you cannot tolerate plain milk, try milk in a form that is “pre-digested,” that is, fermented, such as kefir or cheese. Likewise if you cannot tolerate sweet butter, try cultured butter, and if this also causes a problem, then try ghee, which contains no milk solids.

If you cannot tolerate any milk products, because of congestion or gastrointestinal issues, then we can use our food-group thinking and just omit dairy products but use other animal foods.

Beef often presents a problem, which is really unfortunate as beef is the best dietary source of zinc, so often lacking in vegetarian diets. Two things can help here: one is to be sure to eat the meat with its fat. All too often, grass-fed meat is too lean and lean meat is very hard to digest. Secondly, be sure to eat the meat with a gelatin-rich broth. In fact, if you have not eaten meat in a long time, you should reintroduce meat in small amounts chopped up in a gelatin-rich soup broth. The broth is also a good source of calcium, which you will need if you are not consuming dairy products.

These same rules hold with chicken, turkey, pork, etc. Eat them with their fat and accompanied with a gelatin-rich broth as in soup, a sauce or gravy. Many people avoid pork as the “heaviest” kind of meat, but I have had patients who don’t do well on beef, but are fine with pork. Likewise, some do well on pork or poultry fat, but not on butter or ghee.

Another choice, of course, is eggs, but again, some people do poorly on eggs, especially egg whites.

In this journal and the WAPF literature, we have stressed the importance of the fat-soluble vitamins A and D over and over again. Yet many people starting out on our diet miss the importance of these nutrients—they eat lean meat, but not the sources of A and D, such as fat, organ meats, sea food and especially cod liver oil. It is not surprising that they have trouble digesting high-protein foods because these foods will deplete the fat-soluble vitamins—especially vitamin A—very quickly. So I cannot stress too strongly the importance of including these in the diet.

Digestive aids that can be helpful include a supplement of hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes to help with protein digestion and ox bile to help with fat digestion, taken with meals. These will replace hydrochloric acid, digestive enzymes and bile that your body may have “forgotten” how to produce—yes, indeed, the body’s production of these substances so important for digestion can shut down through lack of use.

I recommend Standard Process Zypan, two with each meal, to increase pancreatic enzymes and hydrochloric acid. For fat digestion, Cholacol by Standard Process provides purified bile salts for increasing bile flow and helping with fat digestion. The dose is 1-2, three times per day before meals.

Swedish Bitters can also help stimulate overall digestive ability. The dose is 1 teaspoon mixed with a little water three times per day with meals.

The final aid for helping with the digestion of animal products is enzyme-rich fermented vegetables or drinks with each time you eat meat or other animal foods. This can include sauerkraut, kimchi, beet kvass or other lacto-fermented drinks.

With these aids and principles, it has been rare that a person can’t find a type of animal food that they tolerate.

The next food group I call the seed food group. This includes grains, seeds, nuts, beans and other starchy vegetables such as potatoes and sweet potatoes. Again, remember that within a food group all the foods are essentially interchangeable.

The key with this group is in the preparation. Grains are much better tolerated after a long soaking, even 3-4 days in some cases. I often advise people to soak such grains such as rice and millet in a large bowl or jar for 2-4 days before cooking, just to enhance their digestibility. Then if you use bone broth instead of water in the cooking your body will be better able to tolerate them.

With seeds and nuts the trick is to soak them in salt water and dehydrate them as described in Nourishing Traditions.

Sprouted grain flour, which is now commercially available over the internet, can be used to make flour products easier to digest, although those having trouble with grains may want to also soak the flour. Alternative types of flour such as coconut flour can also be used.

If none of these tricks allows you to tolerate grain and seed foods, then I suggest getting your complex carbohydrates from such starchy vegetables as cooked sweet potatoes, white potatoes, parsnips, carrots and beets, always served with liberal amounts of butter or other fat.

The third and final group is the vegetable group. In this group the key is to understand the relative amounts of cellulose or fiber in the various vegetables. With low fiber vegetables such as lettuce, or vegetables that are really fruits such as tomatoes or cucumbers, no cooking is required for most people. Strange as it may seem, however, some people need to avoid raw vegetables entirely and only eat them cooked.

High fiber vegetables such as spinach, chard, asparagus, etc., require steaming, blanching or some other quick cooking technique to soften the fiber and make the vegetable easier to digest. Some vegetables really require a long cooking, such as kale, collards, mustard greens or turnip greens, as is the wise custom among people who eat these foods. (These “greens” are also traditionally cooked with pork fat.)

Lacto-fermentation also softens and digests fiber in foods, making them more digestible. Here I am thinking primarily of cabbage, which is best eaten as lacto-fermented sauerkraut. The consumption of sauerkraut with each meal also aids the digestion of the other food groups.

With this approach, practically everyone can find a traditional diet that works for them.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Spring 2007.

]]>http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/adjusting-to-traditional-foods/feed/5Losing Weighthttp://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/losing-weight/
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/losing-weight/#commentsSun, 04 Mar 2007 00:29:24 +0000http://www.westonaprice.org/?p=5102Question: I find myself gaining weight, in spite of following the principles of nourishing traditional diets. Do you have any suggestions? Answer: In my book The Fourfold Path […]

]]>Question: I find myself gaining weight, in spite of following the principles of nourishing traditional diets. Do you have any suggestions?

Answer: In my book The Fourfold Path to Healing, I explain that one of the keys to effective weight control is controlling the levels of the hormone insulin in your tissues and blood. Insulin is secreted when the sugar level in the blood and tissues is higher than needed for immediate energy use. The usual reason this occurs is that you are eating more carbohydrates in your diet than you need for your activity level. Or, as I sometimes tell patients, you may be eating like a marathon runner but exerting the activity of a couch potato.

Lowering your carbohydrate intake to 75 or fewer grams per day will result in a gradual weight loss for about 70-80 percent of the patients I see, until they achieve something like an ideal weight (which, by the way, is not a weight that leaves you model-thin). But experience has shown me that by no means is this strategy succesful with everyone.

So, what are the options if this amount of carbohydrate reduction is unsuccessful? The first option is to decrease the carbohydrate level to about 40 grams per day for two weeks every 2-3 months. This will usually work, although it is a Spartan diet that many people find unpleasant or even impossible.

A second option is to get on a rigorous exercise program and keep the carbohydrate level the same. However, many report that this also doesn’t work or at least not very quickly.

Another option is to supplement with the fat-burning enzyme known as lipase. Taking a high potency enzyme supplement between meals three times per day as far away from food as possible will often help mobilize the fat stores. If you experience a slight feeling of nausea when using these enzymes, taking some bitters two to three times per day will often help clear out the fat breakdown products produced by the enzyme digestion. There are many brands of these enzymes commercially available.

If these simple procedures don’t seem to work, a cleansing program might help clear out the liver and jump start the weight loss. Standard Process makes a very good purification program which can be used every six months to initiate the weight loss. It can be obtained through many health care providers.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter 2006.